Surprise!

Season 1, Episode 11, Aired
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Episode Summary

Debbie is upset that Michael has ended things with David and takes her fury out on Brian, demanding that he gives Michael a chance to grow up and have his own life. Brian throws Michael an elaborate surprise 30th birthday party, and then outs him to an unsuspecting Tracy. Michael is hurt and bewildered by Brian's actions, while everyone else is generally disgusted. Ted gets tested when he discovers that one of his encounters is HIV positive. He's negative, but Emmett (who got tested for moral support) is unable to get his results until Monday. Emmett spends the weekend convinced he's positive and makes a pact with God that he'll give up sex with men if the test results are negative. Debbie realizes that Brian's "betrayal" was the push she wanted him to give Michael, and for that she is grateful. Michael asks David if the offer to move in is still open. Emmett finally gets the good news that he is negative, and he tells Ted he plans to live up to his part of the agreement he made with God.

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9.1
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EPISODE RATING: Superb
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Fan Episode Reviews (6)

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  • The hype of Mike turning thirty has everyone stressed out, including Debbie who is furious when she finds out Mikey and David broke up. Desperate that her son will be lovesick after Brian forever, she pleads with Brian to let him go so he can have a life.moreless

    10
    "Perfect"
    By breezy2281, Aug 13, 2008 Report Abuse
    So at the beginning of this episode Brian seemed very happy to have his little Mikey back. All the boys are teasing Mike about his thirtieth birthday coming up. Emmett buys him an easy cake oven which i thought was hilarious. When Debbie finds out that Mike and David broke up she takes it out on Brian. Mike seems to be the only one that doesn't know he's been in love with Brian forever, or at least he's the only one that doesn't realize that everyone knows. Debbie confronts Brian about this and criticizes him for keeping Mike tailing after something he can't have. Debbie asks Brian to let him go so he can have a life now that he's thirty, saying he deserves someone to love him back and to settle down with. Meanwhile, Brian's friends are all saying the same thing pretty much, while giving him grief, including Ted. When Ted mentions it to Brian, Brian says he'll let Mike go when Ted does, then continues to inform Ted that Mike saw his shrine when he was in a coma. Brian invites David which at first i thought Brian was doing it for Mike's own good, to let him have a life finally. After i saw Brian flaunting his present to Mike which topped David's expensive inscribed watch, i really didn't think it was right of him. I figured more head games and that Brian wants Mikey to himself but not in a relationship, but he doesn't want anyone else to have him either. However, when Tracy showed up and we found out Brian invited her i didn't really know what was going on. First i thought it was wrong because Brian blew up Mikey and now Tracy knows the truth, and she went off on Mike. I wonder if she'll tell everyone at work. However, this is best for Mike. Brian plays the jerk so Mike doesn't have to do the hard part. See, now Mike doesn't have to go through the pain of not lying to his co-workers about who he is, because Brian did it for him. Also, is this Brian's way of trying to push Mike away from him so that he won't in fact be in love with Brian for the rest of eternity? Well, this may have hurt him a bit, but everyone knows anyone who's been in love with someone like this will never completely fall out of love with them. On the other hand Ted sees a guy that he slept with six months ago and tells Emmett about him, then they find out he might be HIV positive. Ted freaks out and he and Emmett get tested because Ted wasn't careful. Ted comes back negative but the doc wants to see Emmett...On Monday. Freaking out all weekend Emmett goes to see the doctor, who i thought maybe wanted to just go on a date. While he was afraid he got some advice from Vic at Mike's party. Emmett had prayed at Brian's party. When the doc tells Emmett that he is negative he asks to hook up but Emmett says no. When Ted asks why Emmett said because he prayed that if God made him negative he would never have sex again with another man. How long do we think this is going to last? Meanwhile, Justin is waiting tables in Debbie's diner to work off the charges he put on Brian's card. When everyone storms out of Mike's party angry at Brian, Justin sticks around to help him "clean up the mess." Brian gives him attitude in the morning when Debbie comes over. Sometimes i wonder why Justin puts up with Brian's crap, other than the obviousness of Justin loving him. Debbie again gives a speech to Brian but tells him she understands why he did it the way he did, and thanks him. This was a sad yet revealing episode. By the way, what was with the huge pictures of Mike in Brian's apartment at the end of the episode? Is Brian just as infatuated with Mike as Mike is with him? I've thought so for a while and it's becoming more clear now, though Brian tends to hide it better. I think he wants Mike too but can't because they are such good friends, if they were in a relationship together and it didn't work, it can't work, things would never be the same again.moreless

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  • Michael needed that little push

    9.1
    "Superb"
    By luv4brian, Jul 03, 2007 Report Abuse
    I think that this episode was needed for a long time. After speaking with Debbie and her concerns about her son's damage that he's doing to his relationship with David, she tells Brian that he's there too much for Michael. that Brian always gives little bits of his affection to let him think that one day, Michael may get him. So Brian decides to throw him a big 30th birthday surprise party. And he gives him the perfect gift: Issue one of Captain Astro comics: rare edition. And for his final surprise, he invites David. By the end of the party, he tells Tracy that Michael's gay David punches Brian, and most of all, Brian pushes Michael away to the point where he can now happily enjoy his relationship with David. This was a pivotal episode, although it was painful to watch Michael be so hurt, and not understand Brian's true intentions. Very well-written episode.moreless

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  • Michael finally received the push he needed. Good job, Brian!

    8.4
    "Great"
    By rewindyourtime, Apr 20, 2007 Report Abuse
    Michael needed exactly what Brian gave him. The truth of the natter is that Brian will never love Michael in the way Michael loves Brian. Brian's feelings for him have and always will be platonic. Michael needed to know that Brian will only be able to love one person in a romantic/passionate/the love of your life kind of way, and that person is Justin. I find it both sad and pathetic how Michael refuses to relinquish his fantasies about Brian. Nothing is more heartbreaking than unrequited love, but you have to get over it sometime. I think Michael finally gets over it by the fourth season--that's 18 years of holding on to something he'll never have. Let go already!moreless

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  • Not my favorite episode to watch for several different reasons.

    8.5
    "Great"
    By tiewashere, Jan 24, 2007 Report Abuse
    It's not that I don't like Queer as Folk. It's just that this episode was not my favorite to watch at all! I thought the writers wanted us to like Brian? After this episode, I wanted to pull off his nails and shove them down his scrawny little throat. I didn't like the whole HIV test thing. I mean, sure Ted's was good and could have held out longer but when Emmet was going to be called back, it was so obvious that it was going to be for some stupid reason. Come on, give me something to "wow" me next episode!moreless

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  • The Brian and Mikey show

    7.9
    "Good"
    By SMGslayer97, Nov 19, 2006 Report Abuse
    This episode had me crying, as much as it was so wrong for Brian to just shove Mikey off a cliff like that his intentions weren't wrong. I mean Michael's feelings for Brian always kept him so close and so on Bri's leash, and we all had to admit that Brian pulled on it on more then one occasion. (Keep your filthy minds out of those gutters people!) But Brian finally, in a way, came through for Mikey and did what he thought was needed to save him from sacrificin everything for Brian, like he often did. It was a sweet moment, though tainted by his actual actions. When Debbie confronted Brian about this all and thanked him they both had me crying.moreless

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    • Music: "Boys Keep Swinging" by David Bowie; "A Day In Copacabana" by Crico Castelli; "Sweet Thing" by Flex; "Back 'N Forth" by Supa Kings; "I Like" by Stonebridge; "King Of My Castle" by Wamdue Project; "Jump for Joi" by Joi Cardwell; "Silence" by Luna Chique; "Disco At The End of the World" by Fantastic Plastic Machine Edit

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